With Quentin Tarantino's recent disclosure that Brad Pitt "pulled out a brick of hash" for the pair to smoke during a meeting about Tarantino's new film "Inglourious Basterds," the two movie icons could today be mistaken for old roomies. However, in an interview with CNN, the charismatic director of "Pulp Fiction" and "Reservoir Dogs" insists that the well-anticipated union was a long time in the making. "It was very much a case of us wanting to work together, but waiting ...

Former England forward and Harlequins director of rugby Dean Richards has been banned from coaching for three years for his part in masterminding a fake blood injury to one of his players. The 46-year-old was hit with disciplinary action after a hearing by an independent European Rugby Cup (ERC) panel found he had "organized the fabrication of a blood injury" on wing Tom Williams during a European Cup quarterfinal match against Leinster. With his side trailing by one point Williams, ...

There were 100,000 new cases of swine flu in England last week, nearly double the number from the previous seven days, authorities announced Friday. Children 14 or younger were those predominantly affected, with those older than 65 showing much lower rates, the Department of Health said in its weekly swine flu update. Most cases continue to be mild, the department said, but a small minority are severe. The last weekly update showed 55,000 new cases. There is no figure for ...

A former South Korea president who won the Nobel Peace Prize for fostering better relations between North and South Korea has been placed on a respirator in a hospital, a news agency reported Thursday. Kim Dae-jung "became short of breath on Wednesday night and was put on a respirator around 3 a.m. this morning," Park Chang-il, chief of Severance Hospital in Seoul, was quoted as saying by Yonhap news agency. "His condition has improved since. He is conscious, and his ...

Big-spending English Premier League club Manchester City will unveil the much-anticipated signing of Argentina international Carlos Tevez on Tuesday afternoon. City revealed on Monday night that the striker has agreed a five-year contract and would complete his move from bitter rivals Manchester United after passing a medical. The 25-year-old is expected to face the media ahead of City's departure on Wednesday for a three-match pre-season tour of South Africa. A fee for the transfer has not yet been revealed, but ...

David Beckham is planning showdown talks with L.A. Galaxy team-mate Landon Donovan, who questioned the English football star's commitment to the MLS team earlier this month. Beckham said the U.S. national captain was "unprofessional" for publicly voicing his opinions, which were reported worldwide from the soon-to-be-published book "The Beckham Experiment" by Sports Illustrated writer Grant Wahl. "In every football player's eyes throughout the world, it would be unprofessional to speak out about a team-mate, especially in the ...

Despite some high-profile bombings in recent days, Iraq's security forces are ready to take over for U.S. forces this week to stabilize the nation's major cities, the U.S. commander in Iraq told CNN on Sunday. Army Gen. Ray Odierno said he's seen a "constant improvement" in both the security situation and governance in Iraq to prepare for the June 30 deadline for U.S. troops to withdraw from major cities. "They've been working for this for a long time," Odierno said ...

After 10 years of marriage, eight kids and a popular reality show documenting the ups-and-downs of life with two sets of multiples, Jon and Kate Gosselin are officially separating. The couple made the announcement on Monday's episode of "Jon & Kate Plus 8." "Kate and I have decided to separate," Jon said during Monday's broadcast. "It's just not good for our kids to be arguing in front of our kids." "I'm not very fond of the idea, personally," Kate said. ...

TLC released another video segment Friday from the network's one-hour "Jon & Kate Plus 8" episode scheduled to air Monday night. The scene focuses on "crooked houses" -- outdoor mini-houses that the Gosselins are putting on their property that kids get to design -- and Jon and Kate's disagreement as to where they should be placed. After briefly showing the excited siblings playing in the houses, the scene gets right to the subject of the couple's troubled marriage. "It doesn't ...

Tail-diving passenger numbers, the long-delayed debut of a new jet and the ghost of Air France flight 447 haunts this week's Paris Air Show. One of the commercial aerospace industry's most prestigious events, the biennial show is celebrating its 100th anniversary with the industry facing grim economic numbers and the aftermath of the transatlantic crash of a Paris-bound Airbus A330 that killed 228 passengers and crew on May 31. The air show comes at a time when the commercial airline ...